scouting using a u.a.v! dji phantom

[bart oosterbaan]

hey all just picked up a new toy its a dji phantom quad copter , iam using it to scout out trails for me on the argo , ive got some goggles that have tv screens in each eye and a 5.8 ghz TX on the chopper sending me the video in realtime , so basiclly i fly it round like in a video game, getting easy 5 minute flight time and it easily goes 700 feet in the air if you like , works great for what i got it for !! check out the vids

[Rock Doctor]

Totally freakin cool, but you're not going to like it much when you plug in a weak battery, or a good wind takes it away, lol.
I've been getting into the rc helicopter thing lately, lots of fun. Been thinking about getting a quad.
Care to share details on your setup?
Yours is only the second such setup I've come across.

Cheers
RD

[Bazooo guy]

That is awesome footage. I have the AR Drone but have never had mine that high and have a hard time keeping it stable.
Are your settings to control it set to less sensitive? What happens if you crash it in one of those tall trees or in the water?
I crash every flight.....one time it flipped over in flight and came crashing to the ground.
It looks like you can fly yours in complete control.
And you have found a great place to ride.

[bart oosterbaan]

well to start off with the dji phantom is has gps , and will hold position even in a 30 kilometer wind , it has a 300 meter range but i have flown it 500meters, i have installed an on board screen display that overlays info on the video feed , it basically tells me batt voltage current draw how many mah i have used and alt,speed , distance from myself ,
this is an entirely separate gps system on board ,
the phantom itself will fly 55 kph so can handle wind very well it has a naza flight controller imho one of the best , and is very easy to fly , if it losses transmitter signal it will fly home ( where it took off from ) and land by itself , if the batts drop to much it will also auto land although that could be in a swamp !!,,
so basicly phantom 700 $
go-pro 2 ( think i paid 300)
4 extra batteries 100$
fat shark goggles 359$ ( comes with 5.8 ghz 250 milliwatt transmitter)
ez osd system 180$ ( also gives telemetry data through the audio channel to an iPhone and can display the choppers position on Google earth!!)
and yes if i crash it in a swamp , its gone !! like anything electrical !! so is a little frightening having that much $ aloft , but it makes you take care , and its nice knowing it has gps go home feature and gps hold ( altitude hold as well )
to sum it all up iam just amazed at this tool and has been everything i have been wanting for scouting diamond drill roads etc , there are millions of uses, my friend has one at his business ( building towers) and he uses it alot to scope stuff out ,, search and rescue , farmers checkin cows , prospecting , getting cool Ariel footage that would otherwise cost helicopter money, possibilities are endless, but i fear the ole law may pass some closed doors on these in the future , so get one now! ;P)
oh and moose hunting ,,, although i didn't really say that !! ;P)

[Rock Doctor]

I think I just peed a little bit

RD

[mustangwagz]

I think I just peed a little bit

RD

Make that 2 of us! lol BadA$$!!!

[JohnF]

... getting cool Ariel footage ...

What does Ariel think about that?

VH RULES! (useta have the t-shirt and belt buckle)

Ya know, there are professors that ask tough questions like, "can a UAV be used to monitor river flow or traffic?", that get really good grants to play with those and then there you go off and just do it for fun.

[guyfox]

I like it...i like it....I can see myself moose hunting with that....lol....

And for all those people who tought the world was flat......ha ha ha...here is the proof.....lol

[spookum]

Anybody put any thought into using the phantom? Their built by the same company . Very nice !!!!